Woods of Song
by Alaunt Mistress
Summary: This is my first fanfic and I suck at summaries, go easy on me. Ed and Al get sent to Mountain's Shadow on another stupid assignment, but it doesn't seem so stupidonce they figure out why they were sent. A bit of AlxOC and some EdxWnry
1. Another Assignment

AN: This is my first fanfic, go easy on me. Constructive criticism would be nice. Anyways, onto Woods of Song

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA. I do own Mountain's Shadow. At least, I think I do. O.o

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Woods of Song

Chapter 1 – Another Assignment

That spring day started out as usual. Hughes shoved dozens of pictures of a five year old Elysia in Ed's face while he poured over books on the philosopher's stone. Riza Hawkeye would search him out in the library as usual to refer a couple of books that she had come across. However, today was different. After giving Ed a book on the stone to look over, she said something rather unexpected.

"Mustang wants to see you."

Ed stared blankly at her, then closed his book with a snap.

"What does that know-it-all jerk want now?" Ed asked, annoyed and curious at the same time.

"He wouldn't say." Hawkeye replied. "Although it's probably another assignment."

"Fine, fine, fine." Ed muttered to himself. He replaced one of the many books littering the floor back on its shelf and went to go out the door to find Hawkeye gone.

Not giving it another thought, Edward Elric proceeded down the hall towards Mustang's office. He stopped when he heard a slight snuffling behind him. He turned around to come face to face with a rather large black and white dog. Hawkeye must have ordered her dog to make sure that Ed went straight to Roy's office.

"Stupid mutt." Ed said to himself.

* * *

The door to Mustang's office slammed, and the black haired Lieutenant Colonel looked up from his paperwork to find Ed huffing and puffing with his back against the door. The distinct growling and barking of a mad hound could be heard through the door. It stopped after about five minutes and Ed breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he looked up at Mustang.

"You really have to quit insulting that dog Edward." Mustang said, going back to his paperwork.

"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever. You wanted to see me?" Ed said, thoroughly irritated now.

"Yes. I need you to go make an assessment of a town for me. It's called Mountain's Shadow." Mustang said, not looking up from his paperwork.

"Mountain's Shadow huh? Never heard of it. When do I leave?" Ed asked, now obviously annoyed that he had to go do a stupid assessment.

"Tonight."

"WHAT!"

"Tonight. Do you need hearing aids on top of stilts FullMetal?" Mustang quipped, amused at Ed's reaction. "I already have your train tickets. You're lucky, there were only two seats left."

Ed was practically hopping mad now, but he knew that he couldn't do anything about it. He hastily grabbed his assignment papers and stormed out the door, heading to the nearest payphone.

* * *

"WHAT!" Winry was obviously upset. 

"I'm sorry Win, but you know that I can't disobey Mustang."

"Ed, we've been planning this for weeks. A nice dinner in a nice restaurant, together for once, and you have to go away when it's tomorrow!"

"Winry, please don't be mad. I just can'…..Winry….WINRY!" A dull buzz was all that answered Ed.

* * *

The train seemed bumpier than usual as it sped east, the sun sinking low behind it. Ed sat glumly with his head pressed against the window, still mad at Mustang for putting him on this stupid mission. A man sat across from him, and a woman bouncing a young boy on her knee sitting next to him. Al sat next to Ed, a bit uncomfortable as always in his armor. 

"Sooooo…." The man said, leaning a bit towards Edward. "Where are ya headin'?"

"Mountain's Shadow." Ed replied, not lifting his head from the cool window.

"Oh, you must be going to see the sisters." The woman said, smiling at Ed.

"Sisters, what sisters? They nuns or something?" Ed asked, finally looking at the couple.

"Oh no, nothing like that." The man replied. "You see, there are four of them. And they all are alchemists. Each one is more powerful in a certain element. One's for air, another for fire, another for water, and another for earth."

"Then they're just regular alchemist, aren't they?" Al inquired.

"Well, not really. It's not them that's so special, but what they've done. You see, Mountain's Shadow is like any town. You've got your people, your tourist shops, your farms, but you've also got a ton of industry up there. The industry was pretty much killing the town, poisoning the air and water, the farmers' crops died, and everyone started to leave, making the town really poor."

"Dang…I'm surprised anyone's still there." Ed said, returning his head to the coolness of the window.

"They're there because of the sisters. There's a wood next to Mountain's shadow, and that's where the fabled sisters live. Practically no one's seen where they live, they just know that it's there. Anyways, they cleaned the place up. The water sister cleans up the water supply every month or so and helps when there are droughts, the air sister cleans up the air regularly, the earth sister helps the farmers with their crops, and the fire sister comes about when winter rolls in. Without them, Mountain's Shadow wouldn't exist."

"Interesting. We'll have to pay them a visit." Ed said, no longer wondering why Mustang sent him. If these sisters were as powerful as the man suggested, then the military would naturally want to keep an eye on them.

"You're in luck, since it's spring, you might get to see either the air or earth sister, if you're lucky." The woman said.

"Either? If you only see them one at a time, then wouldn't you assume that they're the same person?" Al asked.

"Oh no, they've got very distinct qualities about them, although no one has seen the earth sister for certain. Many claim to, but then they have always seen her in the fields at night, on the full moon."

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AN: Well, there we are. My first attempt. Again, Please RR, I would appreciate it. Look for "Woods of Song, Chapter 2: Mountain's Shadow". 


	2. Mountain's Shadow

AN: Hello people! Here's the 2nd chappie. Warning: further chapters might take longer considering to a stupid thing called school. Yeah, I don't really like it. Can you tell? Anyways, reviews appreciated, and to those of you who did review, here's some more to read and enjoy...

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Woods of Song

Chapter 2 – Mountain's Shadow

Mountain's Shadow was definitely not a deserted town. The trader's were busy trading, the restaurants were busy serving, and the whole town simply bustled with activity. Ed and Al walked along the crowded streets, having to shoulder past strangers to take three steps, although most people just made way for Al, so Ed found it easier to walk right behind him.

"Not like they can see me anyways." Ed muttered to himself.

"What was that brother?"

"Nothing Al, just keep your eyes open for a vacant motel or something."

"I am brother, but they're all full."

"Drat. Maybe we should just get the report and book it."

"What about the sister, brother?"

"Oh yeah, her. I don't know, maybe we'll see her along the way or something."

"So where are we going?"

"City Hall."

"Okay then."

It took most of the morning to find the small building that was City Hall. After a half of an hour of pointless wandering, Al finally asked directions from a nearby vendor who promptly tried to sell him something that looked illegal. After a temper tantrum by Ed, the vendor finally told them where to find it. It turned out that they had passed it about three times already.

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Ed walked in and approached the nearest desk that he found. The woman who sat behind it looked like a librarian with her glasses and braided brown hair.

"I need to speak to the Mayor." Ed said, leaning on the desk.

"Yes…" The woman replied, looking up at him.

"I told you, I need to speak to the Mayor." Ed said, slightly agitated.

"You are." The woman said blandly, staring daggers at the young alchemist.

Ed stared at her, dumbfounded for a moment then quickly composed himself. "I am Edward Elric, the FullMetal Alchemist. I am here to make an assessment. I was told that you had some statistics for me."

The Mayor reached quickly into her desk and pulled out a small packet and practically shoved them into Ed's hands. "This should be all the information you need. I am sorry to inconvenience you in your coming out here. I have organized the report so that you have the shortest possible stay here."

Ed stared at the stats; once again he was lost for words. She had practically written his report for him, and the emphasis on her last sentence was not missed. However, he just stood there, reading the report.

Seeing that his brother was making no move to leave, Al steered him out of the door, yelling a hurried thank you over his shoulder at the mayor. Al sighed, the town definitely didn't take too kindly to strangers, or it was probably just the military. They wandered the streets for a few more minutes, and then Ed finally put the report in his pocket, smiling almost maniacally to himself. Al couldn't take it anymore.

"What did it say brother?"

"Oh, the usual. Crop income, industry stuff, importation, exportation, that stuff. But it's what they didn't say."

"What do you mean?"

"There's no mention of the sisters. It's like they didn't exist. They want us out of here without any information on them. They probably didn't realize that word of mouth gets around quickly."

"Oh. But why would they want to protect them? They're just alchemists."

"Perhaps, but the couple on the train made them seem like more than JUST alchemists."

"Oh, that's why we were sent here wasn't it brother?"

"Precisely."

They walked along in silence until they came upon "THE MOUNTAIN TAVERN." Ed turned to Al and said, "Al, I'm going in. But I want you to come in a bit after me. And sit a ways away, but in the same area." Without another word, Ed turned on his heel and strode into the bar.

A slightly stunned Al stood there, and then quickly made his way a bit up the streets. He looked at some produce, said no to a sample of "hisinthgard", made his way back to the tavern, and walked in.

It was a bit noisy, but not too crowded. Men and women were playing poker and pool, and a couple of people just sat at lonely tables, drinking. Al quickly hurried over to the bar, where he found Ed. Remembering his instructions Al sat at the other end of the curved bartender's table. When the bartender, a short fat man with a receding brown hairline and grandpa glasses, asked him what he wanted, Al didn't say anything, but kind of stared off into space. He couldn't really order anything because he was too young, and even if he got water, he couldn't drink it. The bartender, thinking that it was just another lost lonely soul, let him be and went back to his other customer, the one bragging to be a state alchemist.

"So….what's your business here in Mountain's Shadow?" the bartender asked.

"Oh, not much. Just an assessment, although I'm really rather interested in these sisters that I heard about. Anything in particular I should know?" Ed asked, leaning over the counter a little bit.

The bartender stiffened noticeably and Al was starting to think that these sisters were either really good, or really bad people.

"Not really. They keep the town elements clean, and there's always a fire in winter. They're just trying to keep the town safe. They're like a huge team of charity workers, even though there are only four of them."

"Really huh? If they're doing this for charity, then how do they make any money? Even if they were able to perform alchemy, you need more than that to make a living." Ed said, becoming more and more interested as to why the town was so defensive about their local saviors.

"Well, I normally work here after teaching lessons to the children on the weekdays, and weekends I do odd jobs around town. My water sister is normally helping at the food court in her spare time, my fire sister is really too childish to take on a job, and my dear earth sister handles all the finances." A voice said behind them and Ed, Al, and the bartender jumped and turned around to look at the air sister.

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AN: HAHAHA! I love cliff hangers. Stay tuned for Woods of Song, Chapter 3: The Air Sister. 


	3. The Air Sister

Disclaimer: No, I don't own FMA. There, I said it, happy?

AN: Thanks to all those who reviewed. Be warned…I AM THE GREAT CLIFFHANGER GODDESS! So you can expect a few more in this story.

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Woods of Song

Chapter 3 – The Air Sister

If Al had a mouth, it would have dropped. There stood the air sister, hands on hips and grinning maniacally at them. She had sky blue eyes that sparkled even in the dim lights of the tavern. Her blonde shoulder length hair sparkled, and it took a minute for Al to realize that the sister had braided glass into her hair. Her bangs were unusually long and went to the level of her heart, but were tucked behind her ears. They still reached her collarbones though. She wore a tunic and loose pants, all which seemed to be made from ashen gray cotton. Also, she wore ash grey gloves. She wore ash grey sandals with a slight platform to them, although she didn't need any since she seemed to be rather tall, definitely taller than Ed by at least a head or two, or ten. Surprisingly, she didn't look older than 15 at the most.

She moved to behind the counter and tucked back a bang that had fallen loose.

"Aren't you a bit young to be working in a bar?" Ed asked, smirking remarkably like Mustang.

"Aren't you a bit young to be in a bar at all?" The sister retorted, smiling gently. "It's not like I actually drink or anything. Just helps get some money for food."

Ed didn't look convinced, but let the topic go anyways. "So, how long have you been here, sister?" Ed asked.

"Since I can remember." The sister replied matter of factly.

"Yup. Some of my friends and I found her out in the woods when she was just a babe. I raised her myself. That's the only reason she turned out as good as she did!" the bartender said, beaming with fatherly pride.

"What about the other sisters?" Ed said, grinning into his water glass.

"Oh, they went into my care as well, but this one here's my fave." The bartender said, expertly ruffling the air sister's hair in a manner as not to get his hand cut up from the glass.

"Oh stop it!" the sister said playfully, ducking out from under her guardian's hand.

"Anyways, I'm looking for a place to stay, but everywhere seems full." Ed said, taking out his pocket watch and flipping it open, making sure that she saw the cover.

The air sister stopped for a minute, debating with herself over some issue or another, and then looked at Ed and smiled. "Why don't you come to my place for the night or two?"

The bartender looked at her aghast, asked to speak with her a moment, and pulled her out of Ed's range of hearing, and right into Al's.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

"Trying to make a good impression."

"He's a military officer; do you want to get carted off?"

"NO! Of course not, but if I play the nice hostess I can probably convince him."

"It won't work."

"It definitely won't work if I don't try…" the sister said, staring into her step-father's eyes.

He sighed and nodded consent. The sister smiled and walked back over to Ed. "Then it's settled, you'll stay a couple of nights until your business here is done?"

"Yeah. I've also got my little brother with me…"

"Oh, he's welcome as well." The sister replied.

"Okay, lead the way. Come on Al." Ed said, getting up from his seat as Al did the same. The sister frowned a bit as she saw who the brother was, but she shook it off. Any idiot who walked around in a 7 foot suit of armor was hopefully not too bright. Saying goodbye to the bartender, the sister hurried out the door and towards the woods, the Elric brothers in tow. By the time that they reached the edge of the woods, the sun had set and the woods looked dark and foreboding.

"We're going in there?" Al asked shakily.

"Yes, don't worry, the paths are wide, but be sure to stay close." The sister said and strode into the woods, Ed and Al close behind. They came to a fork in the path and the sister took a confident right turn.

"How do we get out, just in case we need to?" Ed asked.

"To get to the glade, take three rights, two lefts, and one right, but only at the forks." The sister replied, striding right past an intersection.

About five minutes later, the trio came to a glade and a cozy looking cottage. Both Al and Ed were genuinely surprised that the sister lived alone in the woods. A faint light shone from one of the windows. The brothers jumped as the sister called them over, already at the wooden door. They hurridly made their way down a gentle slope and stepped inside the house.

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AN: There we are. Sorry it took so long. Stupid school….Grrrrrrrrrrrrr. Anyways, keep and eye out for Woods of Song: Chapter 4 – The Woods 


	4. The Woods

Alaunt Mistress: Hello, hello, one and all. Sorry that I haven't updated lately, but I've had dance auditions so I've been pretty busy lately. Anyways, here's the fourth chappie.

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA

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Woods of Song

Chapter 4 – Into the Woods

It was surprisingly spacious inside the tiny looking cottage. There was a quaint entrance room that held a small table, kitchen facilities, and a fireplace. There was an oil lamp on the table. At the end of the room, next to the woodstove, was an open archway into a hall. A calendar hung above the fireplace that was directly right of where the brothers were now standing. The Air Sister was looking at it. After a moment, she sighed, then turned back to the brothers and motioned them to follow her. As Ed passed by the table, he noticed a small picture. Deciding to look at it later, he stepped past and through the archway into the hall, Al just a step behind them.

There were three doors all in a row in front of them. At the end of each hall was yet another door.

"Bathroom…" the sister said, pointing to the door at the left end of the hall. "Study…" she continued, pointing to the door at the right end of the hall. "My room…" she said, pointing to the door closest to the study. "The rest are guest rooms. Take your pick."

Ed immediately chose the room directly across from the entrance to the hall, and shut himself up. Al, having no other choice started for the left room when he was stopped by the air sister. "Dinner's soon." She stated, then asked, "What are your names?"

"Oh, I'm Al, and my brother is Edward." Al replied.

"Thanks." Was all she said, then turned to go to the kitchen.

* * *

"Edward…" the sister said softly at the door to Ed's room, wondering whether or not the blonde alchemist was asleep. Al was already sitting at the kitchen table, although he had refused the food offered him. Oh well, if he wouldn't eat, that was his problem, although suspicions were starting to arise in the young girl's mind. She pressed her ear to the door to see if she could hear anything. 

"Food." That was all it took. The door flew open and the sister found herself on the floor being trampled by Edward in his mad dash to the table. She could hear Al scolding him for running over "the nice sister", and smiled into the wooden floor. She picked herself up to find Ed ready with fork and knife in hand. She simply smiled and went about serving the food.

'He has quite an appetite.' The sister thought to herself as she listened to the sounds of Ed inhaling food as she herself picked at hers. There were things that needed to be done, and the brothers were going to be a slight complication.

"Are these your sisters?" she heard Ed ask through a mouthful of food.

The sister looked up in surprise, and then followed his eyes to the picture on the table. It showed her and her water and fire sisters. The water sister wore her long flowing brown hair back in a ponytail, and her eyes were ocean blue. She wore a tight long sleeved shirt that completely covered her hands, fingers included. She also wore a long blue skirt. She was sitting next to a fiery little redhead who was putting bunny ears on her two sisters. The fire sister's hair was short, red, and spiked. Her eyes were a honey brown and her attire was a red version of the water sister's, except that she had cut holes for her fingers and had opted for pants instead of a skirt. The air sister sat to the right of the fire sister, her usual glass sparkling in the sunlight.

"Yeah," the Air sister said, almost dreamily.

"Where's the Earth sister?" Al inquired.

"Taking the picture."

"Couldn't you have had one of the villagers take it?" Ed asked, plate empty for a change.

"We don't like to be seen together."

"Why?"

"I don't know, I guess it gives us an air of mystery."

"It also makes suspicions arise." Ed said, looking into her eyes. She stared right back.

"If you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to with my sisters. Most of the books in the library are about Alchemy if you're interested. Feel free, but my room is off limits. Please respect my privacy." She said, standing and heading towards the door, then stopped and turned around. "The lamp stays on."

* * *

The starlight shone unnaturally brightly on long flowing hair, and it blazed auburn red even when shadows crossed it. Deep blue eyes gazed at her home, and she stretched from a hard nights work, dropping her arms and sighing. The fields would yield well, but it had taken a toll on the girl. The new moon took girl's energy away, as her alchemic powers were amplified by moonlight, but starlight had no effect. Her throat was hoarse and raspy from having sung the night away, but it was for the village and so she did it. She started to walk down the long slope to the house; she could see the friendly light of the lamp and smiled at the thought of her warm bed. She was dressed all in black, and most of her coloring came from her red hair. She wore a long skintight shirt that had a low V-neck and covered all of her hands, except for her pointer and ring fingers. Her stomach and palms also showed. On her right palm was a triangle. On her left palm was an upside down triangle. Another upside down triangle with a line through it was on her navel. Her pants came down to mid shin, but didn't show much skin due to the long black boots that she wore. A slight breeze caught her hair and it tinkled with glass. The hair lifted a bit to show a right side up triangle with a line through it on the back of her neck. She came to the door, opened it, and quietly jumped back a step or two. 

A blonde haired boy was asleep on the table, a book under his head and his coat on the chair behind him. The girl smiled to herself, and quietly walked up to him. She had to be quiet; otherwise he would awake and find her like this. She nimbly picked up his jacket and laid it over his shoulders. As she turned to walk away, she was stopped by a hand gripped on her wrist. She slowly turned to meet triumphant golden eyes. Now, she had to tell them.

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Alaunt Mistress: Haha! Yes, I am the Cliffhangar Queen. If you can't stand them, this isn't the story to read. By the way, I love reviews and thank all of you who have R&R'd even though I don't individually write them out. If you want to know what the triangles mean (although it will be a spoiler for the next chappie) go to http:www.fullmetalalchemist.info/alchemy.html Keep an eye out for Woods of Song: Chapter 5 - Secrets Revealed 


	5. Secrets Revealed

Alaunt Mistress: Hey there. Same old same old. Don't own FMA, blah blah blah. Slight spoilers in this chappie, but that's the way things go. Reviews are always appreciated, and most importantly, enjoy.

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Woods of Song

Chapter 5 – Secrets Revealed

The sister swirled the tea in her mug slightly. She could feel the brother's gaze on her and sighed. Best to get this over with and get to bed. She looked up at Ed and found his head in one hand, the other drumming on his leg, obviously irritated that the girl had taken this long to collect her thoughts. Al on the other hand was patiently sitting in his chair, hands folded in his metal lap. The sister took a deep breath and let it out. She started to say something, but found that she couldn't. She looked down at the floor, hating herself for not being able to tell them. Why did she fear them so?

"How about you start by telling us your name." Al said politely.

The sister nodded, and replied blandly, "Chrissy."

"No last name?" Ed asked.

"No. What Mr. Samuels, the bartender, said was true. He found me when I was hardly a year old. He took me in like I was his own. He was the one who discovered my gift in elemental alchemy, when I accidentally burnt down his favorite plant, then built it back up again."

"SO YOU CREATED LIFE!" Ed asked, nearly knocking his chair over in his excitement.

"No, the roots were still intact, I merely accelerated its growth rate." Chrissy continued.

"So what is with the symbols?" Al asked.

"You should recognize them Al." Ed said, it must be late for his brother to be forgetting basic alchemy.

"Oh yeah, that's right. The triangle means fire, the triangle with a line through it is air, the upside down one is water, and the upside down with a line is earth!" Al said almost triumphantly.

"That's right." Chrissy said, her voice rasping a bit and she took another sip of tea.

"Why are you so hoarse? You haven't been talking that long." Al said.

Chrissy smiled into her mug and continued. "There are two things that amplify my alchemic powers, moonlight and song. I don't know why. That's why I'm so drained tonight, it's the New Moon. But I had to go out tonight to help the fields grow because I wasn't able to do it before tonight."

"That's ridiculous, you can't perform alchemy by singing." Ed said, leaning back in his chair.

Chrissy merely glared at him, then looked back down at her tea, it was cold. She opened her mouth and began to sing. It was short and simple, but it took both brothers by surprise when her tea started to steam again. She sipped it and smiled at the elder Elric brother, whose mouth was hanging open in a dumbfounded expression.

"But why do you have to make yourself into all those different people? Why not just be yourself?" Al asked, the first to recover from Chrissy's strange feat.

"Because of us." Ed said quietly.

"Us? But she just met us." Al said, shocked that such a thing could be.

"Not you, but the military." Chrissy said, looking out the window, and ashamed look on her face.

"If the military found out that someone could control all four elements, they'd probably haul her off to a lab somewhere. So by splitting up each different element, there's less likelihood of her being found out. I mean, you've got people all over the world who excel in one element, but all four is unheard of." Ed said, explaining for the girl.

"Until I came along."

"It's okay Chrissy, I'm sure that as long as you don't abuse it, the military won't take any interest." Al said reassuringly.

"Nina didn't do anything." Ed said quietly. Al fell silent and Chrissy could tell that this hit a sore spot on the brothers.

"Well, I for one need to get at least a little bit of sleep. I've got school in the morning."

"You go to school?" Ed asked, not seemingly interested.

"Nope, I help teach." Chrissy said, and went into her room.

The brothers sat a little while longer in silence. It was Al who finally broke the tension. "What would they do, if they found out about her brother. I mean, she's never done anything wrong, and I'm sure she won't. She's just a kid…"

Ed stayed silent, unwanted memories had surfaced. "I don't know…" he finally said. "I don't know what they'd do." Ed laughed a little bit. "The ones with power fear anyone else who could possible pose a threat. That's how the military would view her Al, a threat."

"I don't want her to get hurt." Al said, more to himself than his brother.

Ed looked up surprised, then realization came to him. His brother fancied the alchemist. Well, that was his business and Ed wouldn't pry. "Get some sleep." He told is brother. With that, he went to his own room and fell asleep.

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There we go. Keep an eye out for Woods of Song: Chapter 6 – The School House. 


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